Uprooting
by Victoria Hughes
Summary: COMPLETE! Jack suddenly becomes abusive, and Danny's determined to figure out what's happened ... before anything happens to Danny himself. DxS.
1. The What of It

_Hi, everyone! This is my second Danny Phantom fanfiction, and it will be significantly shorter than the first one. I think. XD;; Hopefully, it will also be less confusing._

_I wanted to play with the 'abuse' cliché, so here we go. Also, DxS! Parody! Hospital fear! Threat of discovery! And of course, Vlad Masters! What more could you ask for? XD_

**Part 1: Rising Tempers**

Jack Fenton was not a cruel, unkind, or uncaring man. A little stupid, to be sure – but only as a practical matter. His IQ was above normal, and his B- average in school was likely due to his inability to provide a satisfactory essay on anything except his passion – ghosts.

So Danny was completely mystified by what had happened: mystified, and frightened.

He was only sticking it out because he had to figure out what was wrong.

&

Maddie had been invited on a ghost-hunting trip in Asia, and wouldn't be back for six months. (She'd given the second six months of the tour to Jack, much to the dismay of the other hunters. Danny personally didn't think they'd find much of anything, anyway, unless there was another Ghost Portal out in Asia somewhere.) She'd called two days earlier to tell Danny and Jack that she was about to descend into the wild jungles of Thailand and not to expect her calls for a month. As for Jazz … anyone would agree she was a genius, so no one had blamed her when she left for her senior year, invited to a gifted school in Pleasantville some 300 miles away in Washington State. Danny had been thrilled on her behalf, although sorry to lose a capable ghost-hunting partner. However, she was always a phone call away, and Danny had her on speed dial.

One day, his phone disappeared.

Danny was certain he'd left it on the dresser that night, so he got dressed and rushed downstairs. "Dad? I can't find my cell phone," he complained as he dove into the cereal boxes.

"That's because I took it, son," said Jack. "You're racking up too many minutes! You know money's tightened up since we're paying for your sister's room and board," he announced.

Danny blinked, pouring himself a box of Ghostly-O's. He _hadn't_ known that. As far as Danny had ever been able to tell, money was nearly limitless. His parents worked largely off grants from the Guys in White, he guessed, since they were rarely gone except to speak at Ghost Conventions or visit family. "Uh … it is?"

Jack didn't look up from his paper. "Yep. There's gonna be a few changes around here from now on … are we clear?"

Danny nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off his father. As a result, he over-poured the orange juice, spilling it over the countertop. "Ack!"

The newspaper edge dropped, and Jack's eyes fell to the spilled OJ. That suddenly, he was on his feet. "Daniel Fenton, can't you do anything right?"

"Okay, geez, Dad, relax!" Danny shot back as he wiped up the OJ with paper towels, too discombobulated by the put-down to immediately realize that his dad _never _spoke that way, ever, to anyone – unless they were possibly men he didn't know talking to Maddie. "I'm cleaning it up!"

His dad grunted and turned his attention back to the newspaper.

Danny ate his cereal quickly and quietly, torn between stark horror at the thought that money was _tight_, shock that Jack had actually mentioned family finances in his presence, and confusion at the fact that Jack was suddenly not a morning person. _He must just miss Mom_, he reasoned to himself. _Maybe this is what Dad was like as bachelor._ Picturing his dad single was weird, though, and the thought of him actually _courting _Danny's mother made him gag, so he dropped that line of thought.

He dashed upstairs to get his backpack and was actually out the door early.

He never saw his dad move from the table.

&

But it wasn't just that morning that Jack was snappy and irritable. Danny returned from school around the same time as usual (late), and as it happened, he was sporting a Fenton Thermos (currently containing the Box Ghost). "Hello? Da—Dad?"

Jack jumped out from behind the sofa (it was anyone's guess as to how he'd even fit back there) and snatched the Thermos from his hands. "Don't touch those!"

Danny was nonplussed. "U-uh, why shouldn't I—Dad, don't press the release bu—" but it was too late; the Box Ghost burst free with a parting 'Beware!' and shot through the opposite wall.

What was really _weird_, though, was that Jack didn't go hurtling after the expired deliveryman, shouting 'ghost!' or some variant thereof; he _ignored the Ghost entirely._

Something was very, very wrong. "Do you know how many of these things you've been through? We can't keep making you Thermoses! Now, use them responsibly and we'll see about letting you have one again."

Danny mumbled an excuse and sprinted up to his room before he remembered that he didn't have his cell phone any more and couldn't call Sam or Tucker. He stewed for a few minutes, trying to make sense of what had just happened, but he discovered he just _couldn't._ His father, Jack Fenton, had completely ignored a _ghost_ in favor of berating his son for destroying too many Fenton Thermoses, which he'd always been proud to give in large quantities with hopes that Danny would bring back interesting specimens to tear apart molecule by molecule.

He wanted to call Jazz, but in a pinch Sam would do just fine – she was far smarter than Danny, after all. He debated for a minute, then went ghost and zipped over to her house.

She was, unsurprisingly, in her room, and he knocked on the window obligingly. "Sam?"

Sam looked up, blinked, then came over to the window and opened it for him. "Hey, Danny. Usually you call first," she said, making it almost a question.

Danny shook his head. "No cell phone, remember? Dad confiscated it this morning," he reminded her. "And speaking of Dad …" he explained the strangeness that had occurred that afternoon.

Sam looked thoughtful. "That's really out of character," she agreed. "Maybe he's being overshadowed?"

Danny smacked himself on the forehead for his own stupidity. "Oh, man, that's so obvious, and it didn't even cross my mind," he admitted. When ghosts were overshadowing humans, Danny couldn't always sense them, although he usually could. "Look, sorry to pop in and run, but I really can't be gone from my room too long in case Dad comes up. Thanks for the suggestion."

"Good thing you can just fly over, considering that you can't just call any more," Sam agreed. "The house phone's no good?"

"Not for talking about my dad like this, or ghost stuff, it isn't," Danny sighed. "I'm gonna run."

Sam smiled. "Okay. Don't forget that we have a History test tomorrow," she reminded him.

"Great. One more thing to worry about." Besides only having two more Thermoses before he evidently ran out. He'd have to be extra careful. "Bye, Sam – take it easy!"

"Later," Sam called after him as he zipped away.

&

But his father wasn't overshadowed.

Danny learned this the hard way.

He flew back to his room, about to change back into Danny Fenton, when he realized that if Jack was being overshadowed by some weird ghost, he really ought to deal with it right away. He floated downstairs in search of his father, and came upon him in the lab.

Before he could even fully get his bearings from phasing through the ceiling, he heard a gunshot and found himself instantly trapped in a net. With an indignant and undignified squawk, Danny slammed into the wall behind him and fell to the ground in a heap, tangled hopelessly in the ghost-proof net.

"Very good, Inviso-Bill," Jack said boomingly, lowering the Fenton Ghost Trapper. "But not good enough!" Danny cringed in anticipation, and got what he was expecting – a severe electrical shock that made him cry out and his back go ramrod straight in pain. He collapsed on his side, panting instinctively as his body twitched involuntarily.

"You're not my d-Jack Fenton," he panted.

"What are you talking about?" Jack looked confused for a moment. "Of course I'm Jack Fenton! And now that I've finally caught you, Inviso-Bill, I'm going to tear you apart, molecule by molecule!"

"Okay, that—" Danny grumbled to himself, "—was the most Dad-like thing you've said all day!" He let out a roar of effort, flinging his arms out as he released an almost unconscious, thin, and largely invisible wave of ectoplasmic energy from every part of his body at once. As with most 'ghost-proof' nets, the material simply couldn't stand up to the sudden assault; the net flew apart.

Danny flew out of the remains and immediately went intangible. Without giving Jack a chance to think or act, he flew at his middle, ensuring he was only solid enough to take any overshadowing ghost out of Jack's body.

But Danny tumbled out the other side of his father alone, somersaulting until he fetched up against the far wall upside-down. "What the ..?"

"I'll not let any ghost possess me!" Jack roared, and this time he was aiming an ectoplasmic gun at Danny's face.

Danny didn't want to stick around long enough to find out exactly what this particular ectoplasmic gun emitted – goo or energy – and he waved a cheeky goodbye, phasing right through the wall behind him.

He nursed his aching body for the next several hours, worked half-heartedly on his homework, and wondered if maybe his father simply had had a change of heart after all.

&

But the next morning brought on even more unpleasant revelations. He blinked awake to the beeping of his alarm before realizing that his bed was awash with green glow. He panicked momentarily, wondering where he was bleeding from (even though he was human – it had been a long time since he'd seen his own human blood, but not so long since he'd seen himself dripping ectoplasm), before realizing the green glow originated outside his window.

The Ghost Shield was up.

Danny came downstairs that morning determined to tread lightly, but he didn't bother to pour cereal – he just retrieved the orange juice. His appetite was utterly gone for the moment.

Jack was reading the paper again, just like the day before. _Since when does Dad read the paper?_ Danny wondered idly. "Dad?"

"Mm." His father grunted.

"Why is the Ghost Shield up?" Danny asked this slowly, uncertain what to expect from this new, confusing Dad.

His father peered at him over the paper. "Because ghosts are dangerous, son, and we've had far too many in this household! Why, just last night Inviso-Bill was in the lab, trying to possess me! Don't worry, though, I've got everything under control."

_I'm not worried about _me—_although sneaking in and out will be impossible now, thanks a lot – I'm worried about _you!Danny wanted to shout at him. Instead, he said, "You're acting funny." Then he smacked himself on the forehead. _Smooth, Fenton._

The look his father shot him was so withering and so aloof that Danny found himself utterly speechless. "I wouldn't be worrying about your old man. I'd be worried about myself, considering your _grades,_" he said flatly before turning back to the paper.

Danny gaped openly at his father until he managed to get himself put together enough to even start for school.

&

"He actually _said_ that?" Tucker gaped.

"For the third time, yeah," Danny groaned. "Shut your mouth, Tuck, I don't want to see your lunch."

"Yeah, ugh. All those misused animals," Sam groaned. She took another bite of salad and sighed. "You're sure he's not possessed?"

Danny picked at his mystery meat, obviously glum. "Not 100, but yeah, pretty sure. Usually barreling through someone's chest without getting any ghosts to come with me is a pretty clear sign," he added, sarcastic.

"No need to bite my head off," Sam reminded him, holding up her hands as if to say 'I'm not touching that one'. "I'm just saying that it's just … well, anyone can change a lot," she pointed out. "But to change that much in two days? It can't be natural."

"Although he _does_ have a point about your grades," Tucker added helpfully.

"Thanks," Danny answered in a dead tone, not in the mood to joke around. Suddenly he grimaced, stiffening. "Oh no … and there's that History test today!"

"Don't tell me you didn't study," Sam said, exasperated.

"I didn't study," Danny monotoned, dropping his forehead on the lunch table.

"Oh, Danny …"

"Okay, I studied a _little_, but then the Box Ghost came back for seconds and I had to spend the rest of the night just trying to get a chance to sneak downstairs to send him back to the Ghost Zone."

"Well, you've got … twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds," Tucker proclaimed. "Better hit the books, hero!"

Danny groaned aloud again.

&

Danny was reluctant to have Sam or Tucker over while Jack was acting so weird, but he couldn't get out of the house until he finished his homework either (which was technically always the rule, but now his dad was accidentally enforcing it by having up the ghost shield). Unfortunately, this acted slightly as a Catch-22, since Danny did his homework much faster with Sam especially (but Tuck as well), but he wasn't allowed to see her until it was complete.

He labored aimlessly through his Algebra homework, certain he was getting at least half the questions wrong. His History test had been a disaster, and Danny was relatively sure he'd flunked it. Maybe Mrs. Worthington would let him retake it? He could only hope. It was his _only_ hope.

Of course, the other exciting aspect of putting a Ghost Shield up around a building that _contained_ a Ghost Portal (not the brightest idea, perhaps) was that although Danny could walk in and out in his human form, luckily, regular ghosts had no such option. Which meant they only had one house to haunt.

Skulker, perhaps, would have it no other way.

Danny hiccupped and his breath came out in a puff of mist. He groaned aloud, rubbing his eyes, and automatically looked for the Fenton Thermos. Oh right, he'd hidden it under his—

The blast of energy hit him in the side and took him right out of his chair and into the wall headfirst. "Ow!"

"Very cute, whelp," Skulker growled as he phased in through the floor. "You lock me in your home?"

Danny coughed, transforming into Phantom as he floated up off the floor. "_That_ would be my dad," he shot back, slamming his hands together and sending a shockwave of ectoplasm at Skulker. "Now get away from my homework before you do some real damage--!"

Skulker dodged wildly, having almost no time to do so in Danny's relatively small room, and Danny dove under his bed, scrambling for the Thermos he'd hidden there. _Thermos, Thermos_--!

His fingers had just closed on it when the bed was overturned. Danny panicked; Skulker grabbed at him, and Danny phased through the floor. "I'll hang your pelt on my bed yet!" Skulker called after him, following.

The crash of the bed was surely audible from downstairs, which meant that Danny had only a few short minutes to defeat Skulker, trap him in a Thermos, and hightail it back to his room in case Jack decided to rush upstairs and find out what had happened. Or rather, so Danny thought; he tumbled into the living room, dodging missiles from Skulker, and barreled right into his father.

"The Ghost Boy!" Jack exclaimed, grabbing for Danny; Danny grabbed back, hurling his father to the floor and pinning him there long enough to put up a shield around them both, destroying the incoming weaponry.

Skulker growled; Danny flung an ectoblast at Skulker, and then yelped as he was flung off his father by a powerful blast from behind him, barely clinging to the Thermos in one hand. "How did you get in here?" Jack roared, pointing a very dangerous-looking green lipstick tube at 'Inviso-Bill'.

"F-from the Ghost Zone, obviously," Danny sputtered, narrowly avoiding a net thrown by Skulker. _I can't face off with both of them!_ Generally, Jack was harmless, but with his new mood his aim had improved. He dropped through the floor again, into the lab, trying to formulate a plan as he uncapped the Thermos. Maybe the Fenton Peeler: yes, that was a good idea. He could strip Skulker of his armor and capture him after—

"Ghosts!" His father was pounding down the stairs even as Skulker dropped through the ceiling. Danny flung himself into a pile of inventions, hoping that his mother hadn't taken the Peeler with her.

"Nowhere to run, whelp!" Skulker called, a grin on his face. "I'd hoped you'd be more challeng-augh!"

"Hah! Take that, Ghost!" Jack cried. "Nobody messes with Jack Fenton!"

Danny emerged from the inventions with the Peeler only to find that Skulker had been plastered to the wall by ectoplasmic goo. _Way to go, Dad! You did my job for me!_ "Great," he panted aloud, before dodging the next blast that came his way. "Gaah! Not me!" he cried.

"I won't stop until I tear you apart!" Jack warned, firing again.

Danny split himself in half and let the blast zip by. "Okay, okay!" he growled, exasperated, chucking the Thermos at his father as hard as he could. It walloped him in the head. "_You_ trap him!"

Jack blinked, his eyes unfocused, and Danny took advantage of the moment to point the Peeler at Skulker, who was still struggling with the goo. A moment later the Peeler went to work, tearing the armor off of the little green creature inside.

Danny chucked the tiny ghost (still screeching about how he was the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter) into the Fenton Portal, and before his father had completely recovered, he picked up the Thermos and flew at top speed back to his room.

It took a little arranging (and turning his bed intangible long enough to flip it back over and place it again) before Danny sat back down at his desk, panting a little from the hurried, brief battle before Jack banged the door open. "Where's Inviso-Bill?"

Danny resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk in response to the terrible, terrible nickname for his alter ego. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he answered instead. "I heard some fighting going on downstairs and thought I should just stay … stay out of the way," he finished lamely.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "He's hiding somewhere in this house … if you find him, tell me immediately!" He disappeared as quickly as he'd come.

Danny took a deep breath and let it out, relieved. This was the closest to normal his father had acted in the last two days, and he hoped it was a sign everything was going to be all right.

&

"Dude, you are so lucky your dad didn't figure it out," Sam said the next day. "I mean, he saw that Inviso-Bill didn't fly back into the Portal, basically, right? But he wasn't anywhere in the house …"

"I'm really just waiting for him to pull out the Ghost Finder again," Danny answered, sincerely worried. "With the way he's acting, he might just take a guess and hit the mark, and since he's being so … weird … I don't know." He pressed his head against his locker, appreciating how cool the metal was. "He was totally into hunting Skulker and me, though, and that's really normal for him. So maybe things are gonna be okay."

"You can always hope," Sam said, but she sounded doubtful.

&

Danny was right; he had flunked the History test. And worse yet, the teacher called him up to the desk.

"Danny, I really think you could have done better. You're very bright; you just don't put forth the effort," Mrs. Worthington said, sounding deeply sympathetic.

Danny cringed inwardly. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Worthington," he said, very sincere. "Is there any chance I could make it up?"

The teacher smiled sadly. "I'll allow you to do so, but I'm concerned by your wandering attention in class, and don't think I haven't caught you sleeping behind your book," she chided. Danny went crimson. "I know you probably don't want your parents involved, but I gave your father a call to ask for a parent-teacher conference, to see if there isn't anything we can do to get you motivated."

Danny's heart had lifted at the discovery he was going to be able to make up the grade, but it fell back into the bottom of his shoes when she uttered the words 'parent-teacher conference'. And wait … "Did you say you called my dad already?" he croaked.

"Yes, I called and left a message during lunch," Mrs. Worthington answered. "I know you probably didn't want me to, but …"

Danny wanted to shout at her, demand explanations, but there wasn't anything technically wrong with calling Jack Fenton and asking for a parent-teacher conference. Danny had always been a little afraid of being on the receiving end of Jack's wrath, but he knew his dad loved him before. Now …

The thought of going home left a dark pit at the bottom of his stomach.

&

Danny pushed open the door carefully, and winced when it creaked shut behind him. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable, but he started to sneak upstairs before he heard a hollered, "Daniel Fenton!"

Danny jumped, lost his balance, and fell down the few steps he'd climbed. "Ow! D-Dad?" He scrambled to his feet.

Jack came out of the kitchen, ominous in his bulk. "What's this I hear about an 'F' in History?"

Danny gulped. "I, u-uh … I flunked a test," he stammered. "I just didn't study hard enough, s-so-"

Jack's huge hands wrapped around Danny's upper arms. "Didn't study hard enough? That's no excuse!" he roared, shaking Danny. "What do you spend all your time doing?"

Danny was rattled by the physicality of being shaken, and he stammered, searching for an excuse. "I-I- we—I was with—"

"Get your priorities straight," Jack barked, shoving Danny backwards hard enough that he stumbled into the wall. "I won't have a _failure_ for a son."

Danny didn't know what hurt worse – his aching arms, or his dad's parting words.

_tbc_


	2. The Why of It

_I want to give a special thanks to everyone who reviewed: _

_Fear not: explanations are forthcoming! Hence the name of this chapter …_

**Part 2: The Why of It**

That night Danny barely slept, tossing and turning, and the little sleep he did get was wracked with dreams – his father turning into a monster, Vlad Plasmius coming down from Wisconsin and announcing he was Danny's new dad, but he had Jack's voice, and his mom and dad divorcing.

He woke up to his alarm clock miserable.

&

His arms actually _bruised._ Danny considered the marks in the mirror after his shower the next morning, hardly noticing the dark circles starting to form under his eyes. _Beautiful,_ he thought. _Exactly what I need._ Jack wasn't abusive, but the bruises were obviously from very large hands grabbing both of his arms, and if anyone saw them, they'd _take_ it as abuse. _Maybe I can pass it off as Dash's fault._ Besides, they would probably fade in a few hours. Bruises rarely lasted on his skin any longer than they had taken to form.

He struggled into his clothes and staggered downstairs, dreading seeing Jack and sorely tempted to just overshadow his father for the conference (but since he was aware of it, Jack would probably wonder why he only remembered the actual conference as a haze).

It was worse than he thought. Jack was at the bottom of the stairs, and before Danny could stammer out a 'hello', Jack grabbed his arm, manhandling him towards the door. "Let's get going," he said, tone flat.

"Wha—uh—class doesn't start until—" Danny protested as Jack flung the door open and pushed him out, never letting go of his arm.

"Shush, Danny!" Jack thundered.

Danny shut his trap for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out sharply. It was a risk – a huge one – but he turned his aching arm intangible long enough to slip out of his father's grasp. "No, Dad! Where are we go--!"

He broke off, surprised and hurt, and Jack froze, his arm outstretched.

A confused moment had just taken place, and the best way Danny could later describe it was that he'd walked into his father's fist. Jack had spun around with clenched hands, and Danny just stepped forward at the wrong time and bounced off him.

Danny clapped a hand over his eye, and for a moment, Jack looked horrified. Danny watched in horror, however, as the irritable mask fell back into place. "Stop asking questions! We'll be late for the conference!"

_The parent-teacher conference. Of course, _Danny thought tiredly, his eye throbbing. His mind felt twisted beyond repair, and he let his father grab his arm and haul him up into the passenger seat of the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle (that is, the Fenton RV). Had his father meant to hit him? He looked so angry, but then he looked so horrified to realize he'd hit Danny, inadvertently or not; maybe there was hope? This couldn't be natural, it just _couldn't_. Something was really wrong.

Danny was silent, but he hesitantly pulled down the mirror on the passenger side to see a nice, quickly developing black eye. _Oh, man …_

"Don't tell anyone about this," his father said, voice low and flat. "You fought with the jock kid. Are we clear?"

Danny nodded numbly. He wasn't sure he should tell Sam and Tucker about this bout of violence anyway; they'd want him to get out of the house, and Danny was certain that if he just stuck around long enough he'd be able to figure out what was wrong.

At least his father still drove like a maniac. Danny braced himself, not looking at where they were going, and in the dashboard lights Jack's eyes looked almost red.

It wasn't until they arrived at the school and Danny had been sent off to go do as he saw fit that it occurred to him that the dashboard lights were _green._

&

"Wow, that's quite a shiner," Sam remarked when she saw him before class.

Danny felt sick at the knowledge that he had to lie to his best friend. "Yeah … the Lunch Lady slapped me in the face with the Emergency Ham," he explained, doing his best to sound abashed. His sleeves hid the bruising on his arms entirely, as long as he made sure they were pulled down.

"Ooo," Sam winced in sympathy. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, it should heal up by tomorrow," Danny agreed absently. "Where's Tuck?"

"Oh, he's got a doctor's appointment at ten. He's a total nervous wreck." Sam rolled her eyes. "How'd things go with—oh, speak of the devil …"

That was when his father appeared around the corner.

The halls were still largely deserted (things wouldn't get busy for another ten minutes or so), and Danny stiffened helplessly. He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed a bit. He relaxed even more when he saw Mrs. Worthington with him; his father couldn't say anything _too_ cruel with a teacher hovering over his shoulder (or at his elbow, as it were). She blinked at his face, and Danny remembered belatedly that he had a vivid black eye.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Worthington!" Jack sounded rather enthusiastic, truth be told. "I'll have Danny whipped in—back on track in no time."

"He just needs a few gentle nudges, and someone to make sure he gets into bed on time," Mrs. Worthington confided. "Isn't that right, Danny?"

Danny felt himself color a little at the question. "You bet, Mrs. Worthington," he said, his voice sounding lame even to him.

Mrs. Worthington smiled in a way that she probably thought was reassuring, but Danny looked away, gauging his father for a reaction. Jack appeared to be zoning out.

"So long, Mr. Fenton. Thank you for coming in to see me," the teacher said. When Jack gave no immediate reply, Danny nudged him.

"Oh, yes. Of course! Nothing is more important to me than Danny's wellbeing!" Jack announced.

"_I'm going to die right here on the floor,"_ Danny muttered to Sam, who snickered. Jack shot them both a glare, and Danny fell silent.

"Well … take care of that black eye, then." Mrs. Worthington sounded uncertain.

"I will," Danny volunteered before his dad could speak. "Bye, Mrs. Worthington." And with that, he walked away, having a hunch his father would follow. "See you in class, Sam," he added pointedly.

Sam gave him a look somewhere between exasperated and worried, but she took the hint. "Bye, Danny."

Danny's hunch proved correct. His dad followed, and Danny found a relatively secluded place to stop. A thought had occurred to him, thanks to a dream he'd had the night before and the red light in Jack's eyes.

"Vlad," he said, turning to his father, "I know you're controlling Dad!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Jack suddenly lunged forward, his face rather slack as he pinned Danny against the wall. "Ah, the little badger has figured it out, then," he sneered. "Good show, boy. Tell me, how did you figure it out?"

Danny struggled against the hand pinning him down, helpless. "Get out of him," he snapped, not interested in exchanging pleasantries.

"Oh, no." Jack's voice sounded very weird, spouting Vlad-like platitudes and condescension. "I don't think I will. You see, the more time passes, the more obviously abusive your father will become, until it is clear to everyone that you are a distressed and harmed child. Finally, you will be removed from your home, and I, your loving, caring Uncle Vlad, will step forward to take care of you in your family's time of need." He smirked. "And of course, if your mother realizes she cannot stand such a husband, then that is merely icing on the cake."

Danny growled angrily. "You get out of my dad now!" he snapped.

"Who's going to make me? Besides, I could hardly stand overshadowing your father _once._ I most certainly am not doing so again."

Danny stared at his father – at Vlad, really – in horror. "Then how are you …?"

"Figure it out for yourself, Daniel. I can't spell out _everything_ for you," Vlad sighed, releasing Danny. "Tah, now!" His father pounded through the door.

&

"I'm kind of relieved," Danny confessed at lunch (although his appetite was still demolished). "At least I know it isn't Dad any more." He still hadn't told Sam the truth about his black eye; Dash had played his part, though, laughing at the discovery his favorite punching bag was getting his somewhere else as well.

"How _did_ you figure it out?" Sam wanted to know.

"I had a dream last night that Vlad came to adopt me, but he kept talking in Dad's voice. It wasn't until we got in the RV this morning that I put it together, though," Danny answered. He gingerly touched his black eye and winced. "Dad sounds a lot like a peeved Vlad right now, so I kind of thought maybe it was Vlad controlling him."

"Don't touch that, silly," Sam admonished. "Smart thinking, though. You are brighter than you give yourself credit for, you know."

Danny blushed a little at the praise. "Thanks, Sam."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Danny sighed. "I don't know yet! I don't even know _how_ Vlad's controlling him yet. He's not overshadowing Dad." He hesitated. "I guess I'll have to start by finding Vlad."

"You could key the Boooo-merang into his ecto-signature," Sam suggested. "We could follow it together. At least tomorrow's Saturday, so if it takes us all the way to Wisconsin we won't be missing any class," Sam grinned.

Danny nodded. "Yeah … good idea. Should we grab Tuck?"

"Today? He'll still be a gibbering mess." Sam rolled her eyes again. "Nah, we can handle this."

"I hope so," Danny intoned. "'Cause Mom gets back in a month, and if this keeps getting worse …" He pushed a hand through his hair.

Sam blinked. "Danny, what happened to your arm?"

Danny looked down, realizing that the fading black-and-blue on his upper arms had been revealed. He hastily pushed his sleeve back down. "Nothing," he stammered.

"Doesn't look like nothing," Sam said doubtfully, but luckily Danny was saved from answering by the bell.

"Man, time for History, gotta run!" Danny grabbed his books and fled.

"Don't think I won't ask you again later!" Sam called after him, but Danny was already gone.

&

History was a bore as usual, but Danny did his best to take notes, trying to make a good impression on the teacher. It didn't save him from getting called up to the front after class, though.

"I talked to your father about your grades and lack of organizational skills," Mrs. Worthington said. "He seemed a bit dismissive, but he promised to help you study for your make-up test. I'm scheduling it for Monday after school."

Danny nodded, fidgeting. He just wanted to get through English and Phys Ed and cut to the chase, literally. "Thanks again for letting me retake the test, Mrs. Worthington."

The teacher smiled slightly. "Despite what you may think, Danny, we teachers really want our students to succeed. I know you perform well when you want to." But her smile wavered. "That black eye is horrendous! How did you get it?"

Danny was a little surprised by the line of questioning, and then he realized he'd be getting Dash in trouble for something he actually _didn't_ do for once if he said Dash was responsible.

_Ah, who cares, he deserves it._ "Dash punched me," he answered.

"You mean the start football player? That seems a little out of character for him," Mrs. Worthington said, sounding nervous. "I don't approve of him stuffing students in lockers of course, but punching …?"

Danny swallowed. It was true that the most Dash had ever done to him was an atomic wedgie, swirlies, and shoving him against (and into) lockers, so punching was a little … odd. "It's the truth."

"Mm." The teacher didn't look convinced. "You know, Danny, I've always thought your family was very loving, but today your father seemed … well. I'm concerned. You do know that if anyone is harming you, you can speak to a counselor."

Danny flashed back to Spectra briefly before catching himself, avoiding cracking up in Mrs. Worthington's face by the skin of his teeth. "Ahah … uh … I-I know," he stammered. "Dad's not hitting me, though, I swear." _Vlad is._ "Look, I've gotta get to English class before Mr. Lancer kills me … again …"

"Of course." Mrs. Worthington sounded resigned. "Here's a hall pass for you in case you're late. Don't forget, the make-up test is Monday!"

"I won't!" Danny promised, flying out the door.

&

The nice thing about having the ghost shield up 24/7 was that none of the ghosts that usually escaped the Ghost Zone had the chance to wreak any havoc. It had been very quiet for two days. Danny met up with Sam after class and they started their walk home, silent for a minute or two.

Then, suddenly, Sam grabbed his sleeve and yanked it up.

"Hey!" Danny turned invisible in a flash of longing to be unseen, and Sam yelped.

"Danny?"

"Right here," Danny sighed, turning visible again. "You startled me."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it, you liar," Sam snapped. "What'd your dad do to you?"

"You mean what did _Vlad_ do to me," Danny sighed again. "Look, Sam … I didn't want to tell you because I thought I was gonna have to live out the weekend with Dad to figure this out, but …" he explained what had happened when his father had found out about the test and the morning activity.

"Oh, man, Danny, you can't live at home," Sam groaned. "What if he hits you on purpose? You can't do anything about it because if you use your ghost powers in front of your dad – and you know he's not overshadowed, so for all you know he'll remember everything – your secret is out!"

"I know, I know," Danny groaned in response. "I've been thinking about it all day. But all I have to do now is get inside, get the Boooo-merang, and get back out. If we can get Vlad to tell us what he did to Dad – or figure out what he did – then I won't even have to worry about it," Danny said confidently.

Sam pressed her lips together. "I'm coming with you." Danny started to protest, but she shook her head. "If we have to fly all the way to Wisconsin, there's no way I'm making you carry me. We'll steal the Specter Speeder!"

"Oh, great, now that might _actually_ get me killed," Danny joked. But from the look on Sam's face, he knew the joke fell horribly flat. "Geez. Okay, uh … let's get inside the Shield first. Then I'll go ghost and turn us invisible and we'll go straight to the lab. If Dad's there, he'll probably capture me, but he still hasn't built a hybrid-proof net, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"If your Dad's there, I'll wreak as much havoc as possible," Sam promised, grinning.

"No, you'll stay in the Specter Speeder and wait," Danny answered. "I don't know how to make it move."

Sam gaped at him. "You don't know how to work the Specter Speeder?"

"It's not like I ever had to learn!" Danny protested. "We only ever use it in the Ghost Zone and I do better on my own in there!"

"Point."

"Okay. So you're fine driving the Speeder?"

"Well, usually Tuck does the driving, but I think I'm okay."

"All right, then." Danny faced the house and took a deep breath, letting it out through his teeth. "Let's do this."

Getting down into the lab was a cinch, but not surprisingly, Jack was there. Danny kept himself invisible long enough to put Sam in the front seat of the Speeder, but he couldn't keep up his invisibility indefinitely. He reappeared as he was looking for the Boooo-merang.

"Ghost!" His father exclaimed, and Danny jumped, grabbing the Boooo-merang just as his father pointed a net-gun at him. He fired; Danny dodged, but not fast enough at close range; the net wrapped around him and he was flung back at the Specter Speeder.

_Go intangible, go intangible, go intangible_, Danny wished as hard as he could that the net would go intangible with him – and it did. He fetched up inside the Specter Speeder, still trapped but triumphantly holding the Boooo-merang. "Go, Sam, go go go!" he shouted at her.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Sam shouted back, hauling on the aeroplane-like controls, and Danny pressed against the side of the Speeder, putting all his effort into overcoming the ghost-proof net and turning the entire Speeder intangible.

They flew out of FentonWorks successfully, and Danny passed out.

&

"Hey, Danny? Danny, wake up." Sam was poking him.

Danny groaned and tried to move, finding he was still hopelessly tangled in the net, although back in his human state. "I hate these things," he confessed. "I feel like an animal."

"Well, there's another reason you shouldn't eat meat," Sam answered. "Think of all the poor trapped animals! See how humiliating it is?"

"Okay, uh, right now I'm really not up for a 'why I should be an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian' speech," Danny said slowly. "Where are we?"

"About three miles out of Amity," Sam answered breezily. "Once you get the hang of it, this thing's not so hard to drive."

"And better yet, it's powered by ectoplasm," Danny added, picking at the netting. "So once I get myself … out … of this thing … I can power it myself."

"Awesome," Sam agreed. "Can't you just blow the net apart?"

"And slap you in the face with glowing ghost-proof net? No," Danny answered sarcastically. "Help me out." And with that, they wasted the next thirty minutes picking Danny's way out of the net.

Danny finally sat down in a seat, relieved, and closed his eyes. "Ah …"

"You look really tired," Sam confessed.

"I feel really tired." Danny pressed his hands to his face. "I was so worried about Dad, and the fact that it's Vlad? It makes me nervous. I can't take him on one-on-one, and I didn't have the chance to grab a bunch of gadgets to fight him with."

"Uh, Danny?" Sam pointed back behind them. "I think we're covered there."

Danny looked; half his family's inventions seemed to have taken up the storage space behind the chair. "Oh," he said, visibly relieved.

"Well, let's toss this thing," Sam suggested, opening the glass window of the Specter Speeder. "Boooo-merang, please?"

Danny handed it over, and Sam threw it.

It whipped back around and clocked Danny in the head. "Ow!"

"Oh! Oops, it's still keyed into your ecto-signature," Sam grimaced.

"Great." Danny handed it to Sam once again.

"Find Vlad Plasmius," Sam ordered, and she threw the Boooo-merang as hard as she could. It spun away into the distance.

"Follow that stupidly named tracking device!" Danny shouted.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Sam grinned.

_tbc_


	3. The How of Plasmius

_Another special thanks to everyone who reviewed: Zizzo, Punker88, Shades-of-Pink, moonymonster, Sam, Writting Freak, The Silent Rumble, GallyHoshi, Diamond Unicorn, DPhantomtomboy, emotigone crazy, Fantomgirl 1 on 1, and K4g0m3-ch4n. It's been a pleasure writing this._

_And now, the exciting conclusion:_

**Part 3: The How of Plasmius**

"We're not going back to Amity …" Sam observed an hour later.

"And we're not going to Wisconsin …" Danny added.

"So where _are_ we going?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Looks like we're headed towards Washington."

"Weird."

"Maybe it's seeking the wrong ghost?"

"Won't know 'til we get there."

"Unfortunately. But if it goes all the way to Canada, I'm quitting."

&

It wasn't Canada, though; the Boooo-merang began to lose altitude at a place much more familiar.

"Pleasantville?" Danny exclaimed. "I think it's seeking my _sister!_"

"No way. How would it find Jazz?" Sam asked. "She doesn't have an ecto-signature."

"I dunno. This is way too weird," Danny confessed. Suddenly he sat up straight. "Wait. I have an idea – going ghost!" He leapt out of the Specter Speeder, flying after the Booo-merang and grabbing it out of midair.

"Danny! What're you doing?" Sam asked as he floated back into his seat on the Speeder.

"Thinking that I want to talk to the smartest person I know before I get myself into a fight with the strongest ghost I know," Danny answered. "Jazz' school is on the east side of town. Let's stop in and say hello."

&

Sam parked the Speeder in an alleyway near Jazz' dorm, and Danny rummaged through the experiments and weaponry to come up with the Specter Deflector. "Here, Sam, wear this." He put it on her without turning it on. "But don't turn it on until we get to Jazz's room."

"You don't think they'll let us in?" Sam asked.

Danny shook his head. "They might let _you_ in, but guys aren't allowed. I'm gonna fly us up, okay?"

"I don't think I've been invisible and intangible so many times in one day as this afternoon, Danny," Sam remarked, smirking.

"What, does it bother you?" Danny went to hoist her up in his arms.

"No … not at all," Sam grinned, letting Danny carry her up to Jazz' room.

It was relatively late (almost eight o'clock) when they slipped into Jazz' room, and Jazz was typing on her computer as fast as possible. "Hey, Jazz," Danny said, reappearing and letting Sam down.

Jazz jumped, screaming. "Aaaah!"

"Aaah! What?" Danny fell into a battle stance, looking for what had startled his sister so much. Sam stiffened, blinking with wide eyes.

"Oh." Jazz turned in her chair to look up at Danny, pressing a hand to her chest in visible relief. "It's just you."

"_Just _me?" Danny and Sam chorused.

Jazz ignored the hurt in Danny and Sam's voices. "I'm so glad you're here! Something's wrong with Dad, right? He gave you that black eye, didn't he?"

Danny blinked; he'd forgotten about the black eye almost entirely, but a glance in the mirror confirmed that it was still brightly visible. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"I could tell when I gave him a call on Monday," Jazz answered. "He was acting kind of weird … really mean. So I went to call you, and I couldn't get through – so I decided to do some research to find out what could have happened to him – and I figured it out. Hang on, I've got the files on here somewhere." She turned back to her computer, typing rapidly.

"You figured this all out and you weren't even there?" Sam said incredulously.

"Well, it's not like I don't keep track of anything and everything," Jazz answered breezily. "I thought at first that Dad was being overshadowed, but Danny would have figured that out. I called again on Wednesday and Dad was still acting weird, so I guessed it couldn't be that."

Danny colored. "I almost didn't figure that out," he confessed. "Sam suggested it."

Jazz wasn't paying attention, though. "So then I started searching for mind control devices, and you know what I came up with?" She sat back from the computer with a triumphant look. "Bloodstream nanobots!" The computer showed a picture of the tiny robots.

"That's what Vlad used on you!" Danny said, the light clicking on. "But he used it as a threat to kill you."

"That's only a really crude use of them," Jazz answered. "I couldn't get a whole lot of information on them without breaking into Axion Lab files, but from what I gathered, a concentration of them in the brain could change the way synapses fire – in other words, you could completely control a person's mind with them." She paused to take a breath. "And of course, the only ghost we know who has access to nanobots and a grudge against Dad is Vlad Plasmius!"

"He's responsible, all right," Danny growled. "We came here to look for him. Why did the Booo-merang take us here, anyway? Shouldn't he be in Wisconsin, or Amity Park?"

"Because he _is _here," Jazz answered bluntly. She suddenly sighed, and Danny realized how tired she looked. "He realized I figured it out, and he threatened to kill Dad if I tried to contact you and tell you what was happening …"

Danny's face became hard, his brows drawing down. "I'm gonna tear _him_ apart molecule by molecule!" he threatened. "I can't believe that total fruit loop! Who invests millions of dollars worth of stuff into _revenge?_"

"Oh, oh, I know the answer to that one!" Sam said sarcastically. She sighed loudly. "How did he get the nanobots into Mr. Fenton anyway?"

"I don't know yet, but Vlad probably infected something he ate with them. They can withstand stomach acids and just about anything else as well, except strong electrical shocks," Jazz explained. "Listen, Danny, you'd better find Vlad fast. If he gets wind of this …"

"If I get wind of what? You divulging all my evil plans to the one person I didn't want to hear them?"

Danny, Sam, and Jazz all cringed and turned to face none other than Vlad Plasmius. Danny wordlessly changed back into his ghost form, fists clenched dangerously.

"Oh, good show, good show." Plasmius clapped sarcastically. "Bravo, Fentons. With your bravery – and brains – I'd think you'd want to renounce your father and join me." He said this almost seductively.

"In your dreams," Danny snapped. Not the wittiest response, but he was so angry he was seeing red. "Sam?"

"What?" Sam blinked at Danny.

"Grab him!" Danny smirked.

Sam took a moment to catch on, but then she rushed forward, hugging Vlad's middle. Vlad cried out, startled when the Specter Deflector electrocuted him. "Aargh!"

"Hah!" Danny released an ecto-blast at the older ghost's face; Vlad fell back, falling through the wall, and Sam released him to keep from falling over herself. "Sam, get Jazz out of here and – uh – I dunno! Bring back weapons! Lots of them!" He followed Vlad.

Sam grinned a little. "You know, I don't like Plasmius, but at least when Danny's fighting him he realizes he really _does_ need some help."

&

Fighting Vlad was a losing battle – as usual. Danny threw ecto-blasts, kicked, and punched, and Vlad yawned through the battle – and he hadn't even gone on the offensive yet.

"Danny, Danny, Danny … when will you learn that I'm simply twenty years ahead of you?" Vlad purred, splitting himself into four.

Danny gulped. He still hadn't managed to duplicate that trick.

"Enough!" All four Vlad's fired ecto-blasts, and all four of them found their mark. Danny slammed into the ground on his shoulder, digging a groove into the carefully manicured lawn in front of Jazz's dorm.

Danny groaned. He had to get up, but he was tired and sore. _Gotta hide …_

"Take that, Plasmius!" cried Jazz, just as she fired off a huge glob of ectoplasmic goo at the four duplicates. Sam was right behind her, firing another miscellaneous weapon. Two of the duplicates were instantly fried, and the third tumbled down to the ground and self-destructed. Vlad put up a shield in front of himself for protection.

"Don't think for a moment that I won't just destroy your father for this!" he called.

"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you done it yet?" Jazz shouted back, clearly unimpressed. "Aah!" She jumped clear of a ray shot at her by Plasmius.

"Hey!" Danny was galvanized back into action at the sight of his sister in danger. He took a deep breath. "Leave … my … sister … ALONE!" His voice morphed into a scream, and the scream into a Ghostly Wail.

There was a shocked sound from Plasmius, and then he was tumbling end over end, slamming into the wall of Jazz's dorm. The force of Danny's Wail kept him pinned there until Danny could scream no more; the ghost boy slumped to the ground, transforming back into Danny Fenton.

Vlad fell to the ground in a heap, clearly dazed, and Sam ran up, unhooking the Specter Deflector from around her waist. "Here you go! I really, really don't accessorize well," she said, hooking the device around Vlad's waist before he could protest.

"Aaugh!" Shocked repeatedly by the device, Vlad groaned; he was still too weak to overcome the Deflector, and he too transformed back into his human form. Still, the device shocked him. "Get this infernal thing off me!"

"Nuh-uh," Sam smirked, the key dangling from one finger. "Jazz?"

Jazz was hovering over Danny. "Help Danny out," she called back. "I've got a couple of questions for Mr Masters."

&

A few minutes later Danny was up and on his feet again, but Vlad was grimacing.

"So how were you controlling the nanobots?" Jazz demanded.

"Child, there are worse tortures than this," Vlad snapped back, sounding exasperated. "The connection between myself and your father is permanent – much to my dismay – until I kill him!"

"You're a liar," Danny said shakily, leaning on Sam for support. "Where's the control device?"

Vlad smirked at that, a thin expression on a pale face. "Ah, wouldn't you like to know." A particularly strong shock made him gasp. "All right, all right! If you want proof, call your father right now. You can listen to him perish for me." He held up a cellular phone.

Jazz stared at him, then flipped open the phone and dialed their home number.

"He's full of it. He's lying," Danny said slowly, trying to reassure himself and his sister more than anything else.

"He doesn't have a control device on him, that's for sure," Sam said, but her voice was drawn and tight. "We checked all his pockets. I don't know how he could kill your dad right now …"

"Hello? Dad?" Jazz sounded worried. "Dad? Oh. Hi," she smiled shakily, looking over to Danny. "Oh, no reason, I was just calling to say hi …" _He's normal again!_ She mouthed.

Both her eyes and Danny's went to Vlad, who had closed his own eyes and was frowning. What was he doing …?

"Uh-huh. I see …" Jazz's voice was beginning to lighten. "Oh, he's here with me. I know, he took the Speeder! He just missed me so much, Dad, he had to see me. I mean, at least he picked a weekend, right?"

"What's going on?" Sam whispered.

"I don't know," Danny grimaced, shaking his head.

Then suddenly, Vlad gave a frustrated yowl. "I can't do it! What's happened?"

"GottagoDadbye!" Jazz managed to pack the words into one sound and hung up. "What, Vlad?"

"I can't sense your father any more!" Vlad looked enraged. "This is insanity!"

"Sense my dad?" Danny looked even more incredulous – but Jazz suddenly smacked herself on the forehead.

"Of course!"

"What?" snapped three voices in unison, two curious and one furious.

"He's using nanobots to control Dad!" Jazz looked excited.

"Uh … we already knew that," Sam said.

"Not like this, we didn't," Jazz answered. "Vlad implanted nanobots in himself as well! Nanobots that could control the ones in our dad!"

"Oooh," Danny said intelligently. "Wait … what?"

"He's been using his _own_ mind to control _Dad's _mind," Jazz explained patiently. "But they don't work any more … because of this!" She pointed to the Specter Deflector. "Remember? Strong electrical shocks destroy the nanobots!"

Vlad looked surprised at this information. "I was assured they were indestructible!"

"_Virtually_ indestructible," Sam corrected. "Way to go, Jazz!"

"No, way to go you, Sam," Jazz answered warmly. "I would never have thought to put the Specter Deflector on Vlad."

"Oh, Danny told me he did that once before," Sam said airily, and Danny blushed.

Vlad, on the other hand, scowled. "Enough!" He got to his feet, transforming as he went (although if he felt anything like how Danny felt, he had to be on his last leg). "I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you—"

"Oh, don't even say it!" Sam cried, clapping her hands over her ears.

Danny, however, grinned darkly. "Jazz?"

"On it, Danny," Jazz smiled, producing a Fenton Thermos. "I knew keeping one around would be smart."

"Hey, her aim improved," Sam remarked as Vlad Plasmius was sucked screaming into the Thermos, leaving only the Specter Deflector behind.

"Can we just leave him in there for, oh, I dunno … a few months? Years?" Danny asked.

"Danny …" Jazz sighed.

"Come on, Jazz! I can't believe he was going to kill Dad just like that," Danny protested.

"I'm with Danny on this," Sam said. "The longer he's out of our hair, the better."

"Well, maybe for a couple of days," Jazz allowed. "And I know just how he should spend them."

&

They deposited the Thermos in the post box an hour later, addressed to Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. The note contained in the packaging read, "To whomever opens this package: press the 'release' button."

"So I told Dad that you're both spending the night," Jazz said. "He says he feels like the last week was a haze, so I guess he doesn't remember anything. He was wondering why the Ghost Shield was on …?"

"Uh … well, tell him he put it up to protect against—"

"—Inviso-Bill," Sam interrupted. Danny smacked his hand into his face, and Sam grinned.

"So, uh … am I in trouble?" Danny wanted to know.

"Nope!" Jazz grinned. "For once."

Danny blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Wait … if he doesn't remember the last week … he doesn't remember my 'F'! Woohoo!"

"An 'F'?" Jazz asked, her voice ominous.

"Oh, man …"

"Come on, Danny," Sam grinned. "You can get some studying done. I'll help. But first …" she wrapped her arms around Danny's neck. "We've gotta sneak back into the dorm, right?"

Danny blushed slightly. "Right."

They waved to Jazz, who smiled knowingly, and Danny carried Sam away.

_fin_

_I hope you'll all read my next story, 'Coming Home' - an AU where Pariah Dark has ruled over Amity for ten years. Thank you again for reading! Please leave a review!_


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